


Checking Network Requirements

by Cobalt_Blue99



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Anti-Void (Undertale), Error Sans - Freeform, I'll add more as I think of them, Just assume canon isn't a thing, Swapfell Papyrus (Undertale), Swapfell Sans (Undertale), Underswap Sans (Undertale), ink sans - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-16
Updated: 2021-02-21
Packaged: 2021-03-17 21:14:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,365
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29478279
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cobalt_Blue99/pseuds/Cobalt_Blue99
Summary: A Swap Sans gets trapped in the Anti-Void. It probably isn't who you think.
Relationships: Sans & Sans (Undertale)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 19





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Am I really starting a fanfiction in a fandom that I have little exposure to with characters I don't know a lot about when I have like three other established works waiting for updates?
> 
> ...yes. 
> 
> Don't judge me and my poor life choices!
> 
> In all seriousness, I only was introduced to this fandom a few months ago, but I've had this idea for awhile now and I've decided to just take the plunge and go for it. So, forgive me if some characters seem... well... out of character and just assume that canon has no place here. I'll do what I can, but don't expect too much.
> 
> Updates will be spontaneous and sporadic. Enjoy!

_Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick_

Ten more minutes. Ten more minutes and it would finally be time for Razz to get up.

_Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick._

For some reason, that prospect didn’t really enthuse him anymore.

_Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick._

In the past, he would be more than ready to face the day, avidly rising up hours before the sun to have time to train.

_Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick._

He knew now that it didn’t matter, in the long run, whether he actually got up or not.

_Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick._

What a fool he was. Thinking he could make a difference here.

_Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick._

He should have just left this universe to burn, like his brother did.

_Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick._

And he had thought Blue was the naïve idiot.

_Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick._

At least Blue knew his universe wasn’t a lost cause, what with their human bringing them to the surface finally.

_Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick._

Though, Razz still couldn’t understand why the Underswap brothers trusted that human whatsoever. After all, hadn’t they killed everyone in their Underground multiple times over?

_Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick._

At least the human here was long gone and hadn’t done one of those ‘Genocide’ routes that the other Sanses always bitched about.

_Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick._

Or perhaps they had. It wasn’t like Slim would tell him even if one did occur.

_Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick._

And as much as Razz hated to admit it, it hurt that his brother didn’t trust him enough to tell him what was going on.

_Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick._

He had only learned about those accursed ‘Resets’ when another universe made contact with their own.

_Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick._

Granted, their universe seemed to have fewer than most. It appeared that once this universe’s human had escaped the Underground, they had no desire to return.

_Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick._

The former king, softhearted fool that he was, had offered his own SOUL to the human for their escape.

_Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick._

Pity. It would have been so much better for everyone had they harvested the Queen’s SOUL instead.

_Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick._

If she was a dictator before her former husband’s death, then she was an out-and-out tyrant after. The Underground was in shambles because of her callousness and neglect.

_Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick._

A few years ago, Razz would have been horrified at himself for thinking such traitorous thoughts, considering the Queen’s death a good thing. He might have even turned himself in.

_Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick._

Now, he was tired. Nothing he did made any difference.

_Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick._

Was this how other Sanses felt? Going through those Resets?

_Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick._

Was this how his brother felt?

_Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick._

It… was not a pleasant feeling.

_Riiiiiiinnnnng!_

Razz slammed a hand reflexively onto the alarm clock, turning the infernal device off. He mechanically pushed himself out of bed, relying on his muscle memory to guide him safely to the bathroom.

Razz stared at his reflection in the mirror and had to admit that he looked rather haggard. The shadows underneath his eye sockets were so dark it appeared like someone had managed to hit him in the face. Twice.

How much sleep had he gotten? Two hours? Maybe three? It was definitely going to affect his performance today, yet somehow, he just could not bring himself to care.

He flicked on the sink and splashed cold water onto his skull, not bothering to try and let it warm up first. Hot water was a luxury that many, including Razz, did not have anymore. It was nothing short of a miracle that even a few parts of Snowdin had any running water left at all. Recently, several pipes had burst, leaving melting snow as the only means of obtaining water for many monsters.

The Queen was of course notified immediately, but Razz knew that fixing the pipes was going to be classified as low priority and was likely never going to happen. Not with the riots in New Home at least.

It was to the point that the Queen had ordered martial law in almost all of the Underground. Public executions were nearly a daily occurrence and dust hung thick and heavy in the air at all times. Razz had gained more LV in the past few months alone than he had in any of the years prior. At this rate, it was only a matter of time before he found himself on the executioner’s block.

Not for the first time, Razz was glad that his brother had left.

And not for the first time, Razz wished he had joined him.

Razz did not know much about the Omega Timeline, only what he had heard in passing from others and from what little contact Slim had kept with him early on after leaving. Still, it sounded much nicer than the hellhole this Underground had become.

But as much as he wanted to leave, Razz felt he could not. Not anymore, at least.

He had sacrificed years trying to fix this universe and leaving now would feel like giving up. No. Leaving now _would_ be giving up. It would be abandoning those who still rely on him to keep Snowdin somewhat habitable. Only he stood between Snowdin and the Queen’s wrath.

Besides, Razz doubted he would be welcomed into the Omega Timeline, not since he had been labeled as an abuser at least.

A title well-deserved, unfortunately.

It was astonishing the perspective that a few years apart had given him. Razz had somehow gone from wanting to protect his perceived weaker brother to treating him like a pet. Yet, no matter how he tried, he could not pinpoint the exact moment the switch happened.

And that was what scared him.

If he went to live with his brother, what would stop him from doing it again? Certainly not Slim. Then again, can you really blame the victim in cases of abuse? But knowing how strong Slim actually was, Razz was still perpetually shocked his brother hadn’t taken things into his own hands and dusted him ages ago.

No. This was a hell of his own making, and one that he would have to live in.

Razz turned off the rusty faucet and shambled downstairs, making his way towards the kitchen. He did not feel like making breakfast, but he knew that there were leftover enchiladas from the day prior. Much as he tried, he had never quite kicked the habit of cooking for two. Wishful thinking perhaps.

He didn’t bother reheating his meal. It wasn’t like he could taste it anyways. For some inexplicable reason, his sense of taste had diminished almost to the point of nonexistence over the past couple years. Razz couldn’t really consider it a bad thing as the ‘enchiladas’ were little more than expired mystery meat and tomato sauce wrapped in crusty tortillas.

Food was another commodity that was difficult to get ahold of these days. Good thing skeletons can’t get food poisoning. Razz was sure that some of the things he had eaten recently would have killed him were he a more fleshy being.

As Razz stiffy shoved the ‘meal’ into his mouth, his eyes landed on a little black device sitting on the counter. The cell phone that his weak, squishy counterpart had given him. He used to religiously check it in case Slim finally sent him an update, but almost two years without contact had changed that habit gradually.

Now Razz checked it once a month, powering it on only long enough to see if he had received any new messages. He always powered it off immediately afterwards to save battery. With the Core becoming less stable, it was only a matter of time before electricity went down entirely and he would have no way to charge the reviled device.

As it was, power was rationed and anyone using more than their allotted amount was executed immediately.

After setting his now empty plate into the sink, Razz eyed the device disdainfully before grabbing it off the counter. He held it in his hand for a minute, disused metal and plastic cool to his touch, before pressing the power button in before he could think it through.

The screen lit up in a warm blue greeting before going to the lock screen. Razz swiped up, then typed in his password before he could talk himself out of it. He tapped the messages app, and then his brother’s name.

Unsurprisingly, the most recent message there was from just under two years ago, bold black letters glaring accusingly at him from the white background.

_Don’t contact me again._

Razz had complied, at first out of spite, but then out of respect for his older brother. It was the least he could do, after what he had put Slim through.

But now, maybe he should send Slim a message, just a short one, to let him know… what? That he was still alive? That he was sorry? That he… cared?

No. This was Razz’s punishment. It was his penance, and he would not spoil it by dragging his brother back into this disaster. When Slim was ready to make amends, _if_ he _wanted_ to make amends, he would contact Razz. Until then, Razz would abide by his wishes to the best of his ability.

He powered off the phone then set it back on the counter with a small sigh. Enough procrastination. It was time to face the Underground.

Razz grabbed the armor laying out by the front door and started layering it on. Once he was satisfied everything was strapped on correctly, he flung open the door. A small cough escaped his throat as a wave of stale, dusty air greeted him. Stars! It was even worse than yesterday!

No magic could escape the barrier, and monster dust contained trace amounts of magic. As such, the dust simply built up to the point of contaminating the air. Yet another problem the Queen should be trying to fix but won’t because she is constantly too busy trying to secure the damn throne.

Razz worked his way through the gray-stained snow towards the guard’s post where he would divvy out assignments for the day. The majority of the Guard had been pulled to deal with the revolts in New Home several months ago, and Razz hadn’t heard from them since. As Captain of the Royal Guard, he was responsible for the few remaining members in Snowdin.

Captain… That was once a title that Razz coveted more than anything else. Now, it was a burden he wished he could do without.

Razz approached the rundown shack they called a base with as much dignity and strength as he could muster. Letting anyone know that he was having an ‘off’ day could very well sign his own death warrant. Weaker monsters were picked off as free EXP with hardly a second thought these days. Even those in power were not safe anymore, thus the riots plaguing the Underground.

Razz slammed the door open, startling the few figures inside. “Report!” He demanded irritably, eyes landing on his second in command.

“Sir!” Doggo said, snapping to attention with the transfer Guards. Doggo was the only original remaining Guard from the Snowdin unit. All the others had dusted or were transferred long ago. “We have received orders from the Queen to execute the two civilians detained for breaking curfew. No word yet on the broken pipelines and power outages. Additionally, we have received orders to transfer half our Guards to New Home by the end of the week. That is all, Sir.”

Razz swore and swiped a hand angrily over his face, clawed hands catching on his eye sockets. Of course, of _fucking_ course the Queen would demand half his Guards. Great. They were already understaffed as it was. This meant the remaining Guards would have to work double shifts and be on call 24/7.

At least Razz would have an excuse for not sleeping now.

“What about the execution?” Razz hissed, Doggo shrinking under his furious gaze. “Is it to be public?”

Doggo nodded fearfully. “Yes. The Queen ordered that it be a mandatory public execution. Everyone must attend.”

Fine. Best to get it over with quickly. “You!” Razz pointed between two startled Guards. “Round up the town. Have everyone report to the town square. You!” He shifted his hand to point at another nervous monster. “Go to the town square and prepare a register. Everyone must sign, no exceptions. And you!” Back to Doggo. “Prepare the prisoners. You all have one hour.”

The Guard saluted their captain with an affirming, “Yes Sir!” before running off to complete their tasks.

Razz sighed and ran his hand over his face again, lingering a fraction of a moment longer over the scar on his right socket. Fuck. What was he going to do? He was already down to less than a dozen guardsmen, he couldn’t afford to lose half of them! He could barely keep the peace in Snowdin as it was. Losing more men would just be inviting a rebellion to occur here, especially with the continuously worsening conditions.

If that happened, Razz would for sure be executed, short-staffed or not. The Queen did not take kindly to failure, as Alphys had learned the hard way. It was a lesson Razz could do without learning firsthand himself.

He quickly shook the thought away and made his way towards the town square. As he walked, he noticed incensed eyes peering out at him from the shadows and around closed drapes. Good. Angry as they were, no one dared attack the Captain of the Royal Guard’s Snowdin unit. That meant he was doing his job properly.

Many years ago, the town square once held a tree decorated with glowing neon lights and colorful presents underneath. Now, the tree and decorations were long gone and were replaced with a shoddily constructed wooden platform that was perpetually covered in a thin layer of monster dust.

The platform was a symbol, not just for what happened to those who opposed the Queen, but as to the current state of the Underground. What had once stood for joy and hope now stood for despair and rage.

Razz stepped onto the platform, ignoring the soft crunch of dust beneath his boots as he walked towards the center where he stopped and struck what his squishy counterpart had once dubbed the ‘intimidation pose.’ A feeble description for sure but one that Razz had never bothered to correct.

He did not have to wait long for monsters to slowly start trickling in. Public executions were commonplace now, and many just wanted to get it over with so that they could get about their business. A few brave (or foolish) SOULs dared to glare at Razz before quickly breaking eye contact and scurrying to find an inconspicuous place in the growing crowd.

An hour later found the survivors of Snowdin gathered around the platform as two detained prisoners held in a kneeling position by Doggo before Razz.

Razz made eye contact with Doggo and nodded, making sure the dog monster saw his movement before turning towards the crowd.

“Snowdin,” Razz started, “the two monsters before you today have broken the law. Both have ignored the curfew set in place for your own protection by Her Majesty the Queen. This may be seen as minor infraction, but disobeying the law is the same as directly disobeying the Queen! As such, these two monsters have been issued a death sentence.”

Razz summoned two bones, one in each hand, and approached the cowering monsters. One was completely silent, perhaps in a state of shock, while the other pleaded, “No, please no, please no.”

Ignoring the pleas for mercy, Razz offered the only mercy he was able and plunged the bones deep within both monsters’ chests simultaneously, dusting them before they even had a chance to scream.

Razz took a breath and trying to ignore the feeling of dust between his phalanges and the rush of EXP, turned back towards the crowd. “Let this be a lesson: disobedience will NOT be tolerated. Long live the Queen!”

“Long live the Queen,” The crowd echoed back apathetically.

The crowd dispersed quickly, no one wanting to wait around in the dust-filled air until they were dusted themselves. Soon, the only monsters who remained at the town square was Razz and Doggo, who obediently awaited his orders.

Razz was about to give said orders when the pattering of feet caught his nonexistent ear. Both he and Doggo turned towards the sound, only to be greeted by the sight of an exhausted rabbit monster in a Royal Guard uniform running towards them.

Razz clenched the still summoned bones in his hands tighter as the monster approached. Beside him, Doggo tensed as well, reaching for his own weapons. What a good dog, very well trained.

“State your business,” Doggo growled as soon as the monster was within earshot.

The rabbit monster pulled up short to stay out of range of their weapons as he gasped to try and catch his breath. Finally, the monster managed to wheeze out, “Are you Sans, captain of the Royal Guard’s Snowdin unit?”

Razz stepped forward, dismissing his magic. “I am. As my subordinate said, state your business.”

The monster panted for a moment before continuing. “Her Majesty the Queen as ordered your presence at the castle immediately, on threat of death.”

Fuck. The situation was worse than Razz had supposed if the Queen was demanding his presence. Something must have happened. Possibly another accusation of disloyalty. The only reason Razz was not dead yet was because those who brought forward the allegations were unreliable and were clearly trying to save their own skin. The Queen did, however, feel the need to remind Razz of what exactly would happen were the allegations found to be true.

This could turn very bad very quickly.

Doggo knew this too and let out a small whine. Razz turned to him and swallowing the lump in his proverbial throat told him, “You are in charge until I get back. Everything better be in order at my return. I will take any damages out of your hide.”

“Understood Sir,” Doggo said huskily, blatantly ignoring the unsubstantiated assumption that Razz would even be returning.

Without further fanfare, Razz took off jogging down the road towards New Home, the exhausted rabbit monster following close behind.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright... We're gonna take this nice and sl-wait. Where are the brakes? Where are the brakes?!

Razz had always considered himself a fearless monster, learned out of necessity to protect himself and Slim back before he knew Slim could defend himself. But now, quite possibly facing his own death alone, he found the smallest sliver of fear creeping up his spine as he knelt before the throne of the one monster who could end his life effortlessly.

Not for the first time, Razz was glad that his brother had left.

And not for the first time, but quite possibly for the last, Razz wished he had joined him.

Queen Toriel said nothing, but Razz could feel her scarred gaze pierce into his very SOUL. He wished to the surface and back that he could see her face to try and gage the situation, but he dared not raise his eyes and risk worsening her wrath.

His SOUL nearly skipped a beat when he heard the Queen sigh deeply, breaking the lengthy silence.

“What shall I do with you, Sans?” She finally asked, her rough tone conveying false affection.

“Whatever you please, Your Majesty” Sans replied hoarsely, voice nearly failing.

“Yes,” Queen Toriel answered sharply. “But first, let me ask. Do you know why you are here, Sans?”

Razz had an idea, but he hoped to stars that he was wrong. If he wasn’t, there would be no mercy. Still, he sensibly decided on simply answering with a “No, Your Majesty.”

“Well, Sans,” The Queen began, her penetrating gaze never once leaving the unsettled skeleton. “I am sure you are well aware of how Alphys failed me, yes?” She paused and waited for Razz to give verbal acknowledgement before continuing. “Yesterday, I finally decided that Alphys has sufficiently atoned her crimes and had her executed.”

Razz… Was not sure how to feel about that revelation. He, like all other Royal Guards, knew that the Queen was holding Alphys in the castle to “atone” for her crimes, and that death was likely mercy at this point, but knowing that the one person who had come the closest to the title of friend in this hellhole had been slain brought up numerous emotions that Razz was not prepared to deal with.

Additionally, even though the Queen knew that Alphys and Razz had been somewhat close, this new information still would not warrant a meeting in person. So the question of why Razz was here was still very much unanswered.

But not for long, apparently.

“Before Alphys was executed,” The Queen continued, ignoring the internal conflict within Razz, “she revealed some interesting information regarding you and your brother.” Dread slowly rose within Razz’s SOUL has he realized what the Queen was likely talking about. “Apparently, your brother is not dead, as you’ve previously disclosed. Supposedly he defected and is currently alive and well even though you yourself reported differently in official documents, which is highly illegal I feel I must add. So, Sans, do you have anything you would like to say for yourself, hmm? Do you refute this claim?”

Razz felt raw magic crawling up his throat. This was worse than he could have possibly imagined. There would be no possibility to lie his way out of this. The Queen always seemed to know when someone was lying to her. At this point, all he could do was hope that she would end him quickly instead of turning him into an example like Alphys.

The Queen understood his silence. “I see,” She said slowly. “Such a shame. You were one of my best captains.” She rose off her throne, towering over the prone skeleton. “I will offer you a swift death if you tell me where your brother is hiding. There are some things worse than death, as Alphys could once attest.” She took a step forward, sending shiver down Razz’s spine. “Your brother, Papyrus was it? Yes. Papyrus. He was my Royal Judge, you know. Or perhaps you didn’t?”

Yes. Razz did. It was another piece of information he had had to learn through his counterparts instead of from Slim himself.

“Well,” The Queen took another step, sending a shiver down Razz’s spine. “I cannot easily replace him, which makes me quite mad, especially if he is still alive.” Another step. “The Underground is only so large, of course. So, I will find him eventually. You may as well just tell me now and spare yourself the pain. Perhaps I might even spare you. You have been nothing but loyal besides this one misstep after all.” Another step.

No. The machine was well hidden in the basement, Razz had made sure of it. The Queen would never find it. And even if she did, they would never be able to work it. Not even Undyne would be able to get it working. Slim had added so many traps to the machine that Razz wasn’t even sure he could work it safely in a pinch. Very much an oversight on his part, and a now fatal one at that.

The Queen now loomed over Razz, her shadow completely engulfing his small form. Even now, he dared not look at her face, knowing that all he would see on it was death.

“Tell me Sans. Where is your brother?”

Razz swallowed back the build up of magic before he managed to croak out his answer. “I cannot tell you, my Queen.”

The Queen hummed. “Not unexpected, your loyalties run deep. Still, a pity nonetheless.” Razz could feel the buzz of powerful magic as the Queen summoned a fireball, the light of it dancing in blue waves across the floor. “Out of respect for your service and loyalty to the throne thus far, I will grant you a quick death, even if you do not deserve it.”

Razz could do nothing but bow his head and shut his eyes, waiting for the final blow to come. At least he would not be made to suffer for months on end like Alphys had. He wondered if his brother would ever find out about this. He sincerely hoped not. Knowing Slim, he would return to avenge Razz and most likely just end up joining him as dust across the throne room’s floor.

Razz regretted not sending that text now.

“Your Majesty!”

A Guard burst into the throne room only to nearly be incinerated by a fireball from the enraged Queen. “What did I say about interruptions?” She snarled furiously. “You have five seconds to convince me that this is important or so help me your dust will be decorating the floor.”

“A human!” The monster squeaked quickly, clearly terrified by the Queen’s threat. “A human has been spotted killing monsters in the Underground! They are on their way here!”

Razz froze, dread slowly seeping into his bones as he listened, still not daring open his eyes. This could not be _the_ human. _The_ human was long gone and would not be returning. This _must_ be some other human, right?

“I see,” The Queen said slowly. “Well, if this human is anything like the other, nothing will be able to stop it.” The Queen sighed, for a moment almost sounding like the beloved monarch from years ago. “Stand up Sans.”

Razz hastily complied, standing onto shaking legs and keeping his eyes averted.

“Good,” The Queen said, pleased by his compliance. “The human will likely make it here. My Royal Judge deserted me. Therefore you, Sans, will fight in his place.”

Razz’s SOUL went cold and the order, the dread dissipating for numbness.

“Yes, Your Majesty,” Razz said finally. The Queen dismissed both him and the Guard with a flick of her wrist, sending both of them retreating to the hall.

Out in Judgement Hall, Razz fell with his back against a column while the Guard scurried away. How had it come to this? All he had wanted to do was fix the Underground, his home. And now, he was going to die what was going to be, in all likelihoods, a horrible death.

Even if this was not _the_ human, human SOULs were much more powerful than monsters. Only Boss monsters really even stood much of a chance, and both Razz and the Queen knew this. This was an execution. The Queen was not expecting him to survive this.

And honestly, neither was he.

Razz held no delusions that he would somehow survive this. Stronger Sans than him had fought and all eventually succumbed in the end. It was just a Sans’ fate, and why would he be any sort of exception?

With a sigh, Razz allowed himself to slump to the floor against the column. He really didn’t feel like spending his last hours alive pacing nervously in the barren hall.

Was this how his brother and the others felt, knowing that death was coming for them but being able to do nothing to prevent it? It was awful. Razz genuinely regretted the insensitive comment he had made to his brother setting off the radio silence.

This was nothing less than he deserved.

After all, he was nothing but a failure. He failed the human, he failed his brother, he failed the Underground. Nothing mattered anymore.

Razz wasn’t sure how long he sat there behind the column moping, but eventually the sound of footsteps echoing throughout the desolate Judgement Hall caused him to snap back to reality.

Razz pushed himself to his feet and stepped out from behind the column. Were this his brother, he was sure Slim would have teleported, but sadly Razz did not share in that ability.

At some point during the past while, the thought that Razz should prepare some sort of monologue did occur to him. He was fairly sure that all his other counterparts had a spiel they gave before their fight, but Razz couldn’t remember how it went for the life of him.

Not that it would have mattered anyways. The moment Razz laid eyes on the human, his mind went blank.

“ _Chara_ ,” He chocked out as he gazed helplessly at the small human with a green-striped shirt and dusty knife.

How could this be?! _The_ human was gone! _Right?_

The human gaped at him for a moment before chucking. “Okay. Wow. This is new. Can’t say I was expecting this of all things.”

That… that did not sound like the human Razz knew. Their voice sounded… different. It was unfamiliar, as was the murderous glint to their red eyes.

The human continued rambling, only adding to Razz’s ever-growing confusion. “I mean, we’ve seen Swapfell Sanses before. But, like, this whole AU is really weird. I mean, isn’t it usually Papyrus that fights us here? I knew something was off when we didn’t find either of them in Snowdin, but man. This is really strange.”

Razz did not understand what was happening, but he did understand one important detail. “You are not Chara.”

The strange Chara clone laughed again. “Actually, I am very much Chara. Just not the one you know. I’m originally from some other AU. Actually, now that I think about it, which one was it? It was so long ago that I just can’t remember. Huh.” They paused and scratched their head with the hand not holding the knife. “Probably an Undertale? Maybe Aftertale? That damn AU is just a never-ending loop, so it’s entirely possible.”

The clone seemed to think for a minute before shaking their head and turning their attention back to Razz. “Not that I’m complaining or anything, I like seeing new things, but where is your brother? Is he here? Is he was weird as you? I wanna fight him next.”

The picture the human painted was starting to become clearer. Razz was still confused as to what exactly was going on, but he knew one thing for sure. This human could not know about his brother.

“My brother is dead.”

“What?”

Now he had the human’s full attention. “My brother is dead,” Razz repeated, making sure to infuse the sentence with as much animosity as he could muster. “The last human killed him. So now I will kill you.”

Doubtful. If this human was anything like the last, it would be impossible since they would just reload if they were defeated. Still, that sounded like something he would say were Slim to be killed, so he went with it.

The human just hummed, unperturbed and feeding into the idea that Razz would not win this fight. “Alright then.” They flashed Razz a wicked grin and said, “Let’s just get to the point.”

That was the only warning Razz had before the Chara charged at him, swinging the knife in a wide arc towards his chest. It was only the reflexes trained into him by life-and-death situations that saved him.

He leapt to the side before sending out a wave of bones that the human effortlessly dodged. Razz summoned his whip and with a crack sent it flying out towards the human. Instead of trying to avoid it, they countered with a knife strike, tearing through the magic construct like tissue paper.

Razz allowed the construct to disintegrate in his hand before summoning two bone daggers and charging towards the human, hoping to catch them off guard before they could recover.

The human sidestepped his attack and slashed at him again, nearly cutting Razz’s throat. Razz leaned to the side to avoid the strike and countered with a blow of his own. The sound of bone meeting metal echoed throughout the hall as the human blocked the attack with the knife and a loud laugh.

“Wow,” They said gleefully, barely out of breath. “Fifteen seconds and you’re still alive. Amazing! Usually you Swap types are dead within the first ten. I wonder how much longer you can last?”

The human pulled away before charging at him again, delivering blow after blow in rapid succession at the skeleton.

Razz grit his teeth as he parried another strike aimed for his neck, sweat slowly sliding down his skull. This human was strong, too strong. Stronger than _his_ human had been. Stronger than any of the Sans had ever described theirs as before. Something was wrong here, but growing exhaustion wouldn’t allow him to pin it.

Razz had just dodged another attempt to behead him when he felt something being dragged across his ribs. Pain exploded on his chest causing his vision to go black for a second. When he came to, he was lying helplessly on the floor, a puddle of warn liquid quickly growing beneath him as the human stared down at him smugly.

“Twenty-two seconds. Color me impressed,” The Chara clone said mockingly. They cracked their knuckles before stretching their laced hands above their head with a groan. “While that was fun and all, I still have a job to finish. Later weird Sans.”

Without so much as a glance back, they left the broken skeleton to dust alone on the cold floor as they presumable went to kill the Queen.

Razz could feel his HP draining rapidly, bleeding out of him like the marrow in his bones. The human had obviously underestimated the amount of LV he had, and consequentially the amount of HP, but it wouldn’t matter in the end.

Quick or slow, death was coming for him all the same.

Selfishly, Razz found himself wishing his brother was there, that he wouldn’t have to die alone on the filthy ground like the pathetic failure he was, though he deserved nothing less.

That fight had been a disaster. He hadn’t even been able to last half a minute, and Razz suspected that there wasn't going to be a ‘Reset’ anytime soon. This death would be permanent.

He wished that he could have at least warn his brother. Something was very, very wrong with that human, and they held knowledge about the multiverse. That much was clear. And it meant his brother was still at risk.

Razz knew nothing good would come of it if this human discovered the Omega Timeline.

But Slim was strong. Surely, he would be able to kill this human. And if not, the Omega Timeline was filled with versions of himself that were just as strong as Slim. Working together, the human would not stand a chance.

A small mercy. Perhaps he could rest peacefully knowing that his brother would be fine.

Razz found he did not have the energy required to keep his eyes open anymore, so he allowed them to slide shut. His HP must have dwindled well into the single digits by now. Only a few more seconds and he would be gone.

Already he could feel a growing numbness spreading across his body, and he was sure were he to look at himself, he would be starting to dust. Yet, he could not feel his body crumbling. Another small mercy.

And then he knew nothing. Just a SOUL floating serenely over the floor before it started to shatter.

The world trembled.

White.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well. That escalated quickly.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Instead of being a productive member of society, I wrote this. I am going to hate myself tomorrow when I have a bunch of things due. Ah well. Que sera sera.
> 
> I will post a few warnings for this chapter though so...
> 
> Warning! Panic attacks and self-injury.
> 
> You have been warned.

White.

That was the first thing Razz saw when he opened his eyes. White. There was just so much white. It seemed to go on forever. Were his eyes even open? A pale skeletal hand blocked his view of the never-ending white, nearly blending in with the background. That answered one question at least, yet there were so many still unanswered.

Razz thought he had died. No. Razz _knew_ he had died. He had felt his body dusting and his SOUL shattering. Even now he could feel the phantom cracks lacing his SOUL.

Razz was positive that he had died. So, why was he here? Was this some sort of messed up afterlife? Was this hell? If he was sent anywhere, it was going to be hell. Razz had come to that irrefutable conclusion a long time ago.

Razz forced himself to stand on shaking legs as he took in his new surroundings. Everywhere he turned, he was greeted by the sight of endless white. He couldn’t see a horizon or a ceiling. It was simply white. He couldn’t even tell if there was something beneath his feet, it was just that same infinite white.

Already Razz was getting sick of the lack of color.

“Hello?” Razz called out loudly, “is anyone there?”

No answer. His voice didn’t even seem to echo. It was as if the words were absorbed by the white.

Not knowing what else to do, Razz picked a random direction and start walking. There must be an end to this peculiar white space somewhere, right? It couldn’t simply go on forever. Yet no matter how far he walked, he couldn’t find any evidence of there being an end. It seemed that the endless white was just that: endless.

He couldn’t be sure for how long he walked, or even how far. There was nothing disrupting the white landscape that he could use to orientate himself. He could almost convince himself that he hadn’t moved an inch. He certainly couldn’t tell if he had or not from the surroundings.

It was quite irritating honestly. And Razz latched onto that emotion, trying to use it to keep the growing panic at bay.

Razz walked until his legs were painfully sore. Only then did he allow himself to drop to the ground in defeat. Looking around, it was like he had made no progress at all. He was starting to wonder if that was all there was. White.

What if it was? What if there wasn’t anyone else here? What if he was trapped here forever, alone?

Razz didn’t even notice he had started hyperventilating until he found himself dazed from a lack of oxygen. Finally realizing what was happening, he forced himself to slow his breathing and take deep, calming breaths.

It took several minutes of controlled breathing before the panic attack finally subsided.

This was not good. Razz used to get panic attacks frequently years ago when the Underground first when to shit and he was still essentially a carbon copy of his squishy counterpart. He had had to find methods of controlling them when he and Slim realized that having one at an inopportune time would likely get him killed. But eventually, Razz had been in so many life-or-death situations and his SOUL had become so warped that the panic attacks stopped altogether.

Panicking was no good. Razz had to remain calm in order to figure this out.

He was Captain of the Royal Guard Snowdin unit for stars sake! He should be able to figure this out. He had helped solve near impossible cases for the Queen before. He could do this.

The Queen…

She was likely dead. Everyone was. His unit. Doggo. Undyne. Everyone.

No. He couldn’t think like that. There was no evidence that anyone else was dead. The Queen could very well have dispatched the human with no issue at. Honestly, this was likely a good thing for the Queen. A murderous human was one way to deal with a rebellion after all. She had probably gathered the survivors under her rule, and they would be so desperate after such a massacre that they would have allowed her to.

Yes. That was most likely what had happened. The Queen was cunning. She knew how to take advantage of a tragedy.

She would have killed the human and assembled the survivors. Knowing her, Toriel likely gave a passionate speech about coming together in dark times and everyone in their desperate state would believe her. In an act of good faith and to get any stragglers on her side, she would then unite the Underground to fix the numerous problems plaguing it. By the time Razz got out of here, the Underground would most certainly be in the best condition it had been in in decades.

Razz held tightly to this belief, even if he could not force himself to fully believe it. What else did he have, here alone in this white emptiness?

* * *

Razz had too much time to think, just sitting there in the infinite white.

There was no denying that he had died. He could try and hide from that fact all he wanted, but there was no escaping it. He had died. His SOUL had shattered, and his bones turned to dust. So, then, how was he here now?

Something must have happened after he died. The human must have done something. But what? The other Sanses had been through dozens, maybe even hundreds, of genocide routes and had never once mentioned anything like this occurring. So, what did the human do? How did he end up here? Where was ‘here’ even at?

Razz could not answer these questions. The fact of the matter was, he was dead at the time that the human did whatever they had done, so he would not find any answers until he found a way out of this white prison.

And find a way out he would.

Even more than having to believe that everyone was alive, Razz _had_ to believe that he would not be trapped here forever. Even now, he could feel the panic growing at the edges of his SOUL as he desperately fought against the urge to scream until he was hoarse and throw attacks until his magic ran dry.

But no. Razz was very disciplined and kept a tight lease on his emotions. It was how he had survived the hell that the Underground had become, and it would be how he survived this hell as well.

His brother would notice he was missing, right? Eventually, Slim would forgive him and then see that he was gone. If anyone was able to find him, it was Slim. Slim was exceptionally smart, he had gotten their machine working after all. He would notice Razz was missing and then go looking for him.

Any second a portal would open and Slim would run through and take Razz home. They would then watch Napstation until the early hours of the morning, just like they used to after one of them had had a rough day, and the next morning Razz would make breakfast burritos for them both and try not to pound his brother while Slim worked his way through his backlog of food-based puns.

Alas, Razz knew that this was nothing but a pipe dream.

Slim had not contacted him in nearly two years, why would he suddenly try now? No. Razz would have to face this alone. Like the majority of his life, he could not rely on anyone else to save him.

Still. It was a nice thought, Slim coming to save him like one of those princes in the bad romance movies his brother liked so much. If by some miracle he was saved by Slim, Razz didn’t think he even had it in him to feel embarrassed at being saved like some weak damsel in distress.

At this point, he just wanted out.

* * *

How much time had passed? How long had he been here?

Razz was not sure. Just like there was nothing to give him a sense of directionality, there was nothing to mark the passage of time.

Out of sheer boredom, Razz slept. He had probably slept more during his time imprisoned than he had during the past three years combined. Though, that wasn’t very surprising. It was hard to sleep soundly knowing you could be shanked in your sleep. After all, he didn’t have his brother to guard him anymore.

And while he didn’t necessarily rest peacefully here either, he eventually found that he could barely keep his eyes open. It was like the magic was being drained from his very bones. Still, he was more at peace asleep than he was awake with the ever-looming threat of another panic attack. But it was still worrying that he felt this exhausted when he had hardly done any activity at all.

Even more worrying than the fact that he was asleep more than he was awake was the fact that Razz suspected he was forgetting things.

He couldn’t quite pinpoint a specific memory, but sometimes he would draw a blank in his mind where he was certain there had been something before. Like the question of the first dish that Alphys had taught him to prepare. What was it? Spaghetti? Steak? Couscous? He could not remember.

It made him wonder what else he was forgetting.

He couldn’t have been here long enough to start forgetting things. Not unless he had slept through literal years. Which might have been possible, considering he knew nothing about this place.

During the few times he was awake and alert, he dedicated his time to trying to find ways to escape. Attacks had no effect on his surroundings, he quickly learned. Though it was curious how his bone attacks seemed to disappear into the ether when he tried to attack the space above him.

If only he could teleport like Slim, then maybe he would get somewhere.

Sadly, that was just not a skill Razz could learn. None of his counterparts were willing to divulge how they had acquired that specific ability, and no amount of cursing and threats could get Slim to talk.

How unfortunate.

* * *

The silence was deafening.

Out of everything Razz missed the most, he wouldn’t have thought it was sound.

If he closed his eyes, Razz could pretend that he was in his bedroom waiting for the alarm clock to wake him or he was sitting on the couch relaxing after a brutal fourteen hour shift. But he could do nothing for the sound.

Sound just did not exist in this place. He could close his eyes and try to pretend all he wanted, but the distinct lack of sound made that nearly impossible. Even in a quiet house, there was still background noise like a leaky faucet or warm air blowing through a vent. Here, there was nothing, and even the silence sounded different.

Sound seemed to be consumed, like this was some type of white void. On the few occasions when Razz could not rein in his panic and he started screaming for…

Who? Who was he calling for again? It was someone in particular, Razz knew that much.

It was… Oh stars. It was his brother. He had forgotten his brother. How did he forget his own brother?!

Yes. Right. Thankfully, he could remember now. His brother’s name was… No. No, no, no, no! He couldn’t remember! Why was this happening?

Okay, he had to remain calm. Razz took and deep breath and held it until his nonexistent lungs burned before releasing it slowly. Alright. He could do this. He could remember.

Razz racked his brain frantically, searching for the key that would unlock this mystery. His brother’s name was…

Tim. Sam. Stan. Stretch. No.

Dog. Pup. Pip. No. Wait. Pap!

Yes, Pap! That sounded right. His brother’s name was…

Pap.

Oh. No. He was already forgetting it. Razz could feel the name slowly oozing from his mind. Stars! He couldn’t do it! He couldn’t go on forgetting his own brother.

He _refused_.

Razz summoned a sharpened bone and without so much as hesitating dragged it roughly down his humerus with a muted cry leaving a thin, shaky line. Marrow flooded the site of the fresh injury and onto the ground below in a steady stream, making the bone slick and it difficult for Razz to draw the curved portion of a ‘P’ onto the bone. Magic welled in Razz’s sockets as he carved two intersecting lines next to the rough ‘P’ shape followed by a smaller line between the two.

By the time he finished with the second ‘P’, tears were gushing from his cheekbones and Razz was finding it harder to breathe. Whether it was from the burning pain in his arm or the fact that he had nearly forgotten his own brother, he was not sure.

* * *

…What was his name again?

Oh, that’s right. It’s Sans.

…

…What was his name again?

Oh, that’s right. It’s Sans.

…

…What was his name again?

Oh, that’s right. It’s Sans.

…

…What was his name again?

Oh, that’s right. It’s… it’s…

He couldn’t remember.

* * *

How long was he here for?

He couldn’t remember.

Why was he here?

He couldn’t remember.

What was his name?

He couldn’t remember.

Where his bones always this mottled grey?

…Yes? Or, at least they had been as far back as he could remember. It still didn’t look quite right, just like his voice didn’t sound quite right. It reminded him of a lagged recording.

But they both must have always been like this. He had always looked and sounded like this for as long as he could remember. So, it had to be normal.

He was fairly sure the voices were new, though.

* * *

_Oh, hey look. He’s awake again._

_Cool!_

_It was boring, not doing anything. Let’s do something fun!_

_I second that statement._

The skeleton woke up to the barrage of voices that had become his new norm somewhere along the way. Some were polite, while others made absurd demands like destroying ‘AUs’ or something else equally ridiculous.

Even if the skeleton knew what an AU was, how was he supposed to destroy it? Half the time, the voices just didn’t make any sense.

Still. The polite ones were some much needed company in this solitary, barren landscape. The only thing other than the skeleton himself in this blank environment was a distinctive brown stain on the floor.

He was sure that there had once been a similar stain on the grey-toned bone of his upper arm, but it had felt itchy, so he had long since scratched at it until it flaked off.

Needless to say, the skeleton clung to that odd little stain like his life depended on it. Perhaps it did. His memory wasn’t the greatest. Time blending together until he could hardly tell one second from the next. The conversations he held with the polite voices (he always ignored the rude ones) blended together as well. Sometimes he would start one conversation, move onto a new topic, and then suddenly switch back to the original conversation much later like they had never left it.

The voices took it all in stride. Some found it amusing when he did that while others were confused or even frustrated by it.

_What do you want to do now?_

It was difficult to pick one voice of the never-silent sea of voices, but he had had a lot of practice, so it become much easier to ignore some voices and focus in on others. He usually only chose to answer a select few, some he had actually gotten to know pretty well, but there were always hundreds of others flooding the void with constant background noise.

“…I don’t really know,” He replied honestly. “Stare at this stain I suppose. There really isn’t much else to do.”

That was the other thing. For some inexplicable reason, there seemed to be a full second delay between when the skeleton would say something and when his voice could be heard. Almost like his voice was lagging.

The skeleton wasn’t completely sure, he only had disembodied voices to compare to, but he was fairly sure that that wasn’t normal.

_Aren’t you bored?_

“…Very much so. But there really isn’t anything else to do. I suppose I could sleep again, but I am not feeling very tired right now so I’d rather not.”

_Are you feeling lonely again?_

Ah! That voice! He hadn’t heard from that particular voice in a while. Sometimes the voices would disappear for long stretches of time only to reappear at random with questions or games.

This particular voice was one of his personal favorites. It always was respectful, of course, and would sometimes find interesting ways to pass the time with him. And it never brought up troubling questions or made unreasonable demands.

“…Not especially,” He answered finally. “Although it does get lonely around here occasionally. It would be nice if I had some corporal company, I suppose.”

The voices got up in a tizzy about that, for some reason. Sometimes his answers would rile the voices up, and usually he would ignore the uproar, but this time even the voices he liked were getting in on the conversation, so he decided to listen in.

_Error is around! We could bring him to Error!_

_That is a terrible idea. Error would kill him the moment he laid eyes on him._

_This argument again? I thought we all agreed that it was a terrible idea and not to mention it again._

_Yeah, but… he’s lonely! Just look at him! Sad puppy face and everything._

_I say we do it!_

_Yeah! Baby destroyer time!_

He made a face. Ugh. There was that horrid word again, ‘destroyer.’ What was it with the voices and ‘destroying’ things? And who was this Error? He knew the voices had mentioned an ‘error’ before, but before now he hadn’t realized it was a person.

Was there really someone else here that he could talk to? That prospect made something warm swell in his SOUL for some reason.

Finally, he got up the courage to interrupt the voices’ arguing with a loud, “…Who’s Error?”

The resulting onslaught of voices to his question had him covering his skull with a pained yelp. Stars! Why did this Error person have them so excited? Was he really that entertaining? Because ultimately, that was the only thing the voices cared about, even the polite ones.

“…One at a time!” He yelled, his warped voice sounding muffled behind his skeletal hands.

The voices did not go one at a time, but at least several of them dropped off allowing him to pick out a few of the answers.

_He’s a lot like you! Except not!_

_Do you want the wiki definition here?_

_Error destroys AUs and fights Ink a lot. I think you would get along with him._

_Don’t go near him. He’ll use his strings to crush your SOUL!_

_He’s the self-proclaimed destroyers of AUs, really powerful, and kind of a jerk. I recommend you stay far away from him._

Somehow the gibberish was enough for him to finally piece together a few things. “…Ah. So, this Error is the destroyer of AUs that you are always talking about.” If they already had a destroyer, then why would they want him to become one as well?

The skeleton did not voice this question, having the unfortunate experience of once making the mistake of asking a question the voices did not all agree upon. All it did was lead to long-drawn-out arguments with no conclusions.

“…Where can I find Error? Is he here somewhere?”

This led to another burst of activity from the voices, some protesting and others cheering.

_Alright! Let’s go!_

_Yes! He is here! But it is kind of a long walk._

_We’ll guide you. Just go where we say._

_This is a really, really bad idea. And that’s coming from me._

_It’s not too late to pretend you never heard any of this._

Sure, perhaps it was foolish to try and seek out an AU destroying being who would sooner crush his SOUL than talk to him, but he was beyond lonely and bored here. A single brown stain was only so interesting, and he knew that even if he didn’t go now, it was only a matter of time before curiosity got the better of him.

Besides, what did he have to lose? This wasn’t living. Death would be preferable to this. At the very least this Error could grant him that.

Resolve settled, he demanded, “…Show me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wouldn't get used to back-to-back updates. I just so happen to be unmotivated this weekend so I decided to be unproductive. Again, I am really going to hate myself tomorrow.


End file.
